408 Changing For Good
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
Release Date: 12/02/2025
Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
429 Lynn Harris - Comedy, Creativity, and Community In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Lynn Harris discuss the importance of comedy and creativity in the heart and soul of a community and how overcoming the doubts and assumptions of others can not only strengthen yourself but as well as the people around you. Highlights How we defy the expectations and assumptions of others. If we can’t talk about a problem we can’t even begin to fix it. The power of community and contributing to it and encouraging others to contribute. Quotes “As with all...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
428 Building Bridges Through Kindness and Compassion In being human we are able to connect more authentically with people not just in the workplace but in everyday life, by allowing them to see us for who we truly are and what we are capable of. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Neal Foard discuss the importance of compassion and connection. Highlights Being present and aware of your actions on others and the world around you. Building trust and genuine connection that lasts lifetimes as opposed to a quick and easy contract. The importance of working...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
427: Eat Your Feelings - A Cooking Show Demonstrating True Connection, Featuring Sam Nathews Highlights from the show: Sam initially wasn't sure about cohosting the show with Cory! He can be shy about performing or entertaining people he just met. It didn't take long to realize how grateful he was that Cory was persistant in starting the project and about Sam joining the show. Sam shared how the show helped him process his grief over losing his mother, and how being able to talk openly about his emotions has been healing for him. He emphasized the importance of normalizing...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
426: Ending the Cycle of Family Trauma Featuring Sharon Weinstein "How did you ever come out of that household? How did you ever evolve into who you are and what you've become from that background?" We met in Washington DC at the final competition for the People's Choice speaker for the next TEDxUStreetWomen event scheduled on November 3, 2025. And when she won the coveted spot, all of us were thrilled. She earned it. In this episode we discussed her TEDx talk, "Think Differently to be Unstoppable", the use of the 4W framework to reframe personal trauma into recovery and growth. She...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Matthew Johnson discuss their work in their communities, from work with the city to their own personal endeavours as well as how this work helps the community grow and retain the character that makes it unique. Highlights Why education in a community is important and how it has the potential to connect us. Loving to serve. Lead as those you look up to lead. Quotes “It’s a delicate balance between community growth and character, because both are necessary.” “People don’t always know what questions to ask to even begin...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
424 The Art of Story Making and Being Present In today’s episode Sarah Elkins talks about her recent vacation and the reminder to remember a past lesson from her son about learning from your past regrets and choosing to live in the moment instead of allowing expectations or worries for the future to take away from the joy of the present. Highlights Being present for the stories you want to share. Learn to just go with the flow and to take ownership of your own happiness. Don’t grieve for the future, instead live for the present. It will still hurt...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
423 We Need Each Other In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Cory Brown discuss their ideas and the influences in their lives that they have had that gave them the push to act on their ideas or to think them through, as well as the importance of putting something into the world that will make a genuine authentic change. Highlights Eat your feelings, coming together over a meal to discuss your feelings. The importance of mental health and reaching out to others for their sake and our own. You must be the one to take the first step to make a change. ...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
422 Experience Awe The natural world is one of few places in the world where we can truly feel at peace. Whether it be to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, or even just to get away from all the screens and pollution, we can find a moment to center ourselves and find genuine awe in the world. In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Thomas Reed discuss the importance of the natural world, finding awe, how we talk to ourselves, as well as finding our own courage to seek the paths that call to us. Highlights How we interact with the natural world around us. The...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
421 The Lives We Live In today’s episode Sarah Elkins and Kuti Mack discuss their unique experiences in being selected for a TED talk, the process in getting to their own important story they needed to tell, as well as the people who supported them along the way. Highlights The benevolence of somebody else and admitting when you need help going hand in hand with not assuming people are capable when in reality they need help. Knowing we are all human and we all need somebody to lean on and to let ourselves lean on others as well. You need to try things out of your comfort...
info_outlineYour Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will
420 Ted Talks: Let’s Start Sharing Stories In today’s episode Sarah Elkins ruminates on her preparations for her Ted Talk, as well as seeing the need that had to be filled, and how she is filling that need in society with clarity and authenticity. Highlights Seeing a problem and figuring out how you can fix it. Let your ideas loose in the world, you never know who needs to hear it. Bring yourself to whatever you do and good will follow. Quotes “The answer wasn’t to explain away what was happening.” “I realized I wasn’t just...
info_outlineIn this episode Sarah Elkins and Judit Piros discuss the importance of change in one's self, how healing often needs to be sought out and made active strides to achieve. From the highs and lows of being a parent, to the life of an artist, as well as the deep intrinsic self learning that comes from our unique walks of life that we must share with those around us. In doing so, we find we aren’t that different after all.
Highlights
-
Shifting perspective to see scenarios differently, especially if it is a scenario you didn’t expect to not work out.
-
Taking time for yourself to heal, find your counterweight, take whatever is thrown at you and still stand up. Especially for yourself and those you love.
-
Proportional responses and how necessary they are to healing.
-
Try to be gentle with yourself.
Quotes
“The way you were born has very very much defined how you lived and how you experience life.”
“All life begins in darkness.”
“You need suffering in order to transform, and this is when you learn your own strength and your own capabilities.”
Dear Listeners it is now your turn,
I have two things that I would like for you to consider over the next few weeks after listening to this episode.
One; if you are a person who has given birth to a living child or living young adult, what is the birth story you share in front of them? What is the birth story you tell people? Is it traumatic? Have you figured out a way to share the story in a way that feels beautiful and meaningful, regardless of what actually happened that day, regardless of the pain you experienced and the fear. How can you tell this story so that when your child hears it, they hear the joy and gratitude that they are there with you now. That’s my first question.
My next one is; what is it that is your tell? What is the signal your body gives you when something isn’t right? I encourage you over the next few weeks to try to identify what that is. In Judit, she said that its a twitch in her hip, in the muscles around her hip. For me, it’s usually some sort of effect from my essential tremors, starting to shake badly enough that it’s very noticeable. So when you feel uncomfortable or something is making you anxious or angry, take inventory of your body, figure out where you’re feeling it. And make a choice, a conscious choice, to notice whenever that is the warning you need to change something.
And, as always, thank you for listening.
Mentioned in this episode
About Judit
I am an Atlanta based Hungarian artist... right now artist, because my life was full of twists and turns before I reached to this point, calling myself this way. Economist by degree, designer by interest, mother of three by love, bellydance teacher, phorographer and doula by femininity and the deepest connection is about mental help, coaching and exploring the fields of Birth and Death.
I have a never fading excitement toward the pre- and perinatal traumas and more importantly: how to heal from this traumas. It took me ten years to get more or less over my own and opening that Pandora's box turned my whole life upside down, but worth it. Even the losses, because on this journey I found myself and this new self is a much more relaxed company for... well... for me :)
Be sure to check out Judit’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram! As well as Imferpect Design for a free guide!
About Sarah
"Uncovering the right stories for the right audiences so executives, leaders, public speakers, and job seekers can clearly and actively demonstrate their character, values, and vision."
In my work with coaching clients, I guide people to improve their communication using storytelling as the foundation of our work together. What I’ve realized over years of coaching and podcasting is that the majority of people don’t realize the impact of the stories they share - on their internal messages, and on the people they’re sharing them with.
My work with leaders and people who aspire to be leaders follows a similar path to the interviews on my podcast, uncovering pivotal moments in their lives and learning how to share them to connect more authentically with others, to make their presentations and speaking more engaging, to reveal patterns that have kept them stuck or moved them forward, and to improve their relationships at work and at home.
The audiobook, Your Stories Don’t Define You, How You Tell Them Will is now available!
Included with your purchase are two bonus tracks, songs recorded by Sarah's band, Spare Change, in her living room in Montana.
Be sure to check out the Storytelling For Professionals Course as well to make sure you nail that next interview!